Latest / Banter with the Boys / F1 2025 Australian GP Recap & Chinese GP Preview - Fast Laps with the Boys

Transcript

F1 2025 Australian GP Recap & Chinese GP Preview - Fast Laps with the Boys · Banter with the Boys

0:00
laced up let's go it's time for banter with the
0:05
boys yo yo welcome back to banter with the boys
0:14
fast laps the your friendly f1 podcast where
0:20
our co -host likes to switch teams last weekend
0:24
he was wearing a Mercedes hat. Now you're in
0:27
a McLaren hat. You know, they won. So that makes
0:29
sense. But anyway, welcome, Joe. Thank you. Back,
0:31
obviously, to your show. It's I hate our show.
0:35
Well, oh, true. Happy to be here. Yeah, I'm I
0:39
don't think. Well, if all goes well, maybe I
0:41
will have a hat for every single team that wins.
0:43
So we'll see if all goes well. Do you have an
0:46
Alpine hat? No. They don't, but I'm not worried
0:49
about them winning. They will. Don't worry about
0:53
it. Pierre's pretty confident that they're going
0:55
to be fine. Anyway, Mike, welcome back. Hello.
1:00
I'm back again. I also have a different hat.
1:02
I also changed. No longer a house fan. Yeah,
1:04
I mean. He's a stroll fan now. Yeah. Our Lord
1:08
and Savior stroll. I mean. Hey, I mean. He did
1:13
kind of save Aston's weekend. I mean, you know,
1:16
he's got some points. I mean, yeah, when all
1:18
you can get is a point, you know, that's pretty
1:21
good. He got more than all points. You're right.
1:24
Sorry, Stroll. He did beat some other drivers
1:27
who people are wearing hats of here today, so,
1:30
you know. Don't know who that would be. Don't
1:33
worry, we'll talk about Stroll for 30 seconds
1:35
later. Also, Kev, obviously. Making everything
1:41
run for us. Behind the cameras. We still gotta
1:44
get a Kev cam. That would be fun. That would
1:46
be fun. Even if it's GoPro. I don't know. I don't
1:49
know how we do that live. We're already having
1:50
so many technical difficulties. We actually are
1:53
having so many technical difficulties that we
1:57
just figured out a thumbnail for our technical
1:59
difficulties on accident. We were having issues
2:03
with the camera and it was just freezing suddenly,
2:05
so it'll come up. We should have a mic or something
2:09
so we can pitch in every now and then. That'd
2:10
be fun, I think. I want that. We do have a fourth
2:13
mic. Maybe we'll set that up. Next episode, if
2:15
we don't have a fourth guest, if you're local,
2:18
by the way, figure it out. Get on the show if
2:20
you're in F1. But if we don't, then we should
2:22
have a mic next week. That sounds good. We'll
2:24
figure it out. Anyway, with that, Kev, let's
2:28
head right into our Australia GP recap. And to
2:45
start off the GP recap, of course, we've got
2:48
to talk about Quali a little bit. I did see Quali,
2:52
but what did you guys see in it? Obviously, Bierman,
2:55
yeah, but not ideal. Yeah, not ideal. Having,
2:59
you know, pretty tough. Typical Haas problems,
3:01
you know. Yeah, typical Haas problems. At least
3:02
they're consistent. At least he didn't crash
3:04
Quali, right? Yeah, true. Out of his control.
3:08
Out of his control, as a Haas should be. The
3:11
moment I was watching that qualifying, the moment
3:13
I heard, we've got a gearbox issue, I was like,
3:15
no! It's over! I actually felt bad. I couldn't
3:19
believe it. Go figure. He finished the race.
3:23
We'll get into that. Obviously, Liam also out
3:25
in Q1. He also didn't do too well in the GP.
3:31
We can get into that. I did find out today, though,
3:35
that he... went through like a change of his
3:39
setup on his car and then had like an energy
3:41
issue in uh in practice three and so he didn't
3:47
get any time to really get used to his new setup
3:50
and so that was part of the reason he was struggling
3:52
so much in qualifying was because he wasn't accustomed
3:56
to the way the new car feels and how these changes
3:59
affected you know his cornering and whatnot and
4:02
that's why he was struggling so much in the corners
4:03
who lawson oh okay liam Yeah, there's always
4:09
something I kind of go back to when I'm thinking
4:11
about the Red Bull, and it's something that Alex
4:13
Albon said. I was watching an interview he did
4:15
about that car specifically. It's so incredibly
4:18
on edge because that's how Max drives, and so
4:22
you kind of have to keep up with how on edge
4:24
it is. So I understand it being difficult. That
4:26
being said, being beaten by Haas, no offense,
4:31
but both kicks. Which is great. Is a little unacceptable
4:37
in my opinion. I understand not qualifying even
4:40
within the top 10. I understand, but 18th is
4:44
not great. Especially when you consider where
4:48
your teammate placed. Yep. That's pretty bad.
4:51
It wasn't raining during quali, was it? No. You
4:54
just struggled. We'll get into the GP. That's
4:57
where I'm really disappointed actually about
4:59
the rain. Alright. Portoletto into Q2, knocking
5:03
out Antonelli. Yeah, I mean, I was so sick. I
5:06
was pumped. I was so pumped. That was awesome.
5:09
I was just flabbergasted, really. And then Antonelli
5:13
showed up anyway. So let's see. So I went Norris,
5:16
Piastri, Verstappen, George Russell, Yuki, Albon,
5:22
Leclerc, Hamilton, Gasly, and Sainz. Let's see.
5:27
How many of those ended up finishing the race?
5:30
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Yeah.
5:38
Eight. I think eight. I think eight of the top
5:41
ten finished the race. That's wild. It was signs,
5:45
and then who else didn't finish? Would have been...
5:47
Oh, no, Yuki finished. No, it was just signs.
5:49
I'm tripping. Never mind. Okay, so just signs.
5:51
Yeah, yeah. Yuki, I thought he... Racked, but
5:54
I'm seeing Isaac in my head. Qualifying fifth.
5:56
Above the Ferraris, rather. And, I mean, I'll
6:01
just point it out. His biggest issue was really
6:04
just he had the pace, but lost his area due to
6:10
poor strategy calls. Yes, I agree. He just hit
6:13
too late. Yuki. Oh, yeah. That was definitely
6:16
on the team. Yuki was holding fifth pretty much
6:18
the whole race. And then just some poor strategy
6:21
calls, and he just fell behind. He was not the
6:24
only one to fall to some strategy calls. So we
6:27
saw a lot of that. We'll get to that. I mean,
6:28
it's race one, but somebody still has to win.
6:31
So with that, let's head into this GP here. Obviously,
6:35
McLaren, Lando. Getting the dub. That's why the
6:38
hat's on today. Yep. Oscar P9 should not have
6:42
been. That was wild. The Australian curse continues.
6:45
I'm not even a McLaren fan, but I was sad for
6:47
you, Joe. Oh, man. It was tough. Yeah, it's really,
6:52
really tough. It was nice seeing, I mean, first
6:55
of all, they was not really like, obviously Lando
6:58
was like. taking it away, but Piastri was right
7:01
behind him the entire race. When Piastri went
7:04
off, Lando went off as well. Piastri just had
7:07
a worse line, and unfortunately he got beached.
7:10
And then spun again as he was trying to undo
7:13
himself. But speaking of Piastri, it was hard
7:17
watching him try to dig himself out of that grave
7:19
and then go, but when he did, the crowd was pumped,
7:22
and then he crawled his way back up. It was still
7:24
very worthy showing for him, even though he didn't
7:26
get the position he wanted. He more than proved
7:29
himself in the rest of the race, just caught
7:31
out by rain on, a lot of rain on slicks. And
7:36
McLaren proved themselves, too. I mean, seriously,
7:40
this is a scary team this year. They are ridiculously
7:42
fast. I mean, halfway through the race, it was
7:44
just the two papayas out front. With like 18
7:48
seconds. It was 16 seconds, 18 seconds. Their
7:51
only competitor is Max right now. I don't think
7:54
because it rained and because the weather was
7:56
so weird, I don't know if we got a great idea
7:58
of how close he is. But we do know that they
8:02
have the potential of making a 15 -second gap
8:04
within 10 laps. I think this race in general,
8:08
we have no idea. We don't even know about most
8:11
of the rookies this race. Antonelli, we'll get
8:14
to him, but we don't even know about... what
8:18
they can handle, you know, at the F1 level. So,
8:20
uh, I, I would be remiss not to talk about as
8:23
well. Uh, Oscar's overtake on Lewis Hamilton
8:26
on the last lap. Cause Holy cow. That overtake
8:29
was unbelievable. Like I know you've played some
8:33
of the F1 game. I know Joe and I played a lot
8:35
of it and overtaking at that spot is impossible.
8:39
It's not, it's you, you don't do it. And not
8:42
only did he do it, but he overtook on the outside
8:45
line and just, Just clowned on a seven -time
8:50
world champion. And that's why I think Oscar
8:52
absolutely has the skills to be a WDC champion.
8:55
You know what I mean? And that's, again, that's
8:59
where I'm tripping on McClaren. I think it's
9:01
going to be an issue at some point, whether it's
9:03
this season or not. I think it's going to be
9:04
this season. But, I mean, Oscar is more aggressive
9:07
than Lando is. That's the thing. I think Lando
9:10
can totally be a WDC champ. You know, how calm
9:14
he was those last few laps just proves that,
9:17
you know, he can handle that spotlight. I have
9:20
no doubt about that. However, if Oscar would
9:23
have made it to the end of the race, I mean,
9:25
it's, yeah, it feels like they would, you know,
9:29
they want to get Landon to that WDC level. But
9:31
Oscar's right there, too. And he's aggressive
9:33
enough that, you know, are we going to see? mclaren's
9:37
battling for the lead you know with five laps
9:40
left this season i mean zach brown said it in
9:43
in the race he go when they when uh crafty asked
9:47
like hey what's the deal with these mclarens
9:49
are are they holding position or are they racing
9:51
and zach brown said well they're gonna race yeah
9:54
yeah like so that yeah That's true. Until they
10:00
wreck one race and then it's all over. Until
10:02
it's Max and Danny Rick. He did say that they're
10:05
going to race, but right before he made that
10:07
call, they did tell him to not fight Lando. So
10:11
it's still something to look out there a little
10:13
bit. If they didn't tell him to do that, I think
10:16
he probably maybe even could have caught up and
10:18
got past him. And then maybe he wouldn't have
10:20
been in the situation in general. He had more
10:22
pace. He definitely did have more pace. While
10:27
we're still on McLaren, like I said, Lando and
10:29
Oscar pretty much going off at the exact same
10:31
spot, doing the exact same thing. Lando coming
10:33
out on top and Oscar being beached. Is there
10:35
anything that he could have done different or
10:37
is it just car was maybe a little bit faster
10:39
going at that point? He just slid across the
10:41
tarmac and into the grass. Beaching himself?
10:44
Yeah. He was too aggressive with it, I think.
10:46
I think he just, you know, you saw what he was
10:48
trying to do, right? He's trying to smash the
10:50
gas, try to get. Just try to get it back straight,
10:52
but it was too much. It's still wet conditions.
10:55
I think at that point, he knew, oh, snap, I got
11:01
loose, whatever it may be. A couple of cars had
11:05
an issue with how quick, since they're hybrids,
11:09
that electronic torque is. A lot of cars had
11:12
issues with that. Whether that was that or not,
11:14
I think they were both just pushing. I think
11:17
he just got too aggressive and overcorrected
11:19
is all it is and ended up sliding and beaching
11:21
himself. I agree. It's dope that he got out,
11:24
like you said. It was super awesome. I'm just
11:26
watching that moment again, too, and I agree
11:28
with you. I think Lando also got on track a lot
11:30
quicker, too. You know what? He got on track
11:32
as he was going straight. You're watching out.
11:34
Let's watch a couple clips. It just happened
11:36
right here. And I think, too, there's still probably
11:39
a lot of gravel. left on his tires after it because
11:42
he gets back i mean he does go through the grass
11:44
i mean a lot he goes he goes through the grass
11:46
and so there's so much water on those tires coming
11:48
out of the grass lando gets on tarmac like in
11:51
a straight oscar has to pretty much turn to keep
11:54
going down the track and that just kind of keeps
11:55
it keeps him sliding i think that it's just yeah
11:58
maybe just unfortunate um if he tries turning
12:00
to get on the track before making it to that
12:02
moment max is gone so he probably didn't want
12:04
to lose position either i think I think that's
12:06
just a testament of the difference in tenure
12:11
between the two drivers. Lando's been here for,
12:13
what, six or seven years now? So you do think
12:16
it's a skill thing? I think what it was was Oscar
12:19
just made... Oscar went off track and panicked
12:23
and made a judgment call. He's got less than
12:27
a second to just make a call and make a decision,
12:29
and he just made the wrong call, the wrong decision.
12:31
But that has to happen to learn. Exactly. Yeah.
12:33
So this is, if anything, this is just a learning
12:35
experience for him. This is only going to help
12:37
him grow and become better. And this is something
12:40
that Lando has experienced before and is more
12:44
accustomed to. So like, this is like, I mean,
12:46
I know we've already mentioned it, but the fact
12:48
that he was able to unbeach himself, like actually
12:50
it's showing that he's out right now. And that
12:51
obviously we know that's not the case. He was
12:53
able to get it moving and get back on the track,
12:55
which is just insane. We all thought his race
12:58
was over. Yeah, it says out right now. And he
13:01
just got on the track right now and it said out.
13:03
And then they put his time back up afterwards.
13:05
What a champion. A world driver champion. So
13:09
yes, he lacked the skill and probably overcorrected
13:12
if we had to guess, but he had enough know -how
13:14
and figured that part of it out. That was just
13:17
pure insanity. But anyway, good for McLaren.
13:19
Good for McLaren. I mean, I counted him out in
13:21
the moment. I was like, no, he's got to just...
13:23
I was like, he's backing up to retire. He's going
13:25
back to the pits and he's stopping. He just kept
13:27
going. I mean, he didn't go back to the pits,
13:29
but he got on wets and he... Yeah, it was crazy.
13:32
Yep. Yep. Somebody that also was affected by
13:37
a little bit of their team strategy. Max Verstappen.
13:42
Yeah, I... I don't hate the move he made. He
13:47
stayed out. And I do think that probably, I don't
13:52
know if it cost them the race per se. I mean,
13:55
I guess, what do you guys think? I don't know.
13:57
I don't think it cost them the race, but it was
13:59
a risky move. A lot of teams took the risk, though.
14:02
Ferrari will get to them. But a lot of teams
14:05
took the risk. And I think there's just a lot
14:06
of unknowns of what this rain was actually going
14:08
to do. I mean, it felt like every two minutes
14:11
there was a new team. com to somebody who had
14:14
whatever team and the timing of how much rain
14:17
what level of rain which was crazy i didn't know
14:20
they went by levels so that was something new
14:22
for me like oh the level three rain is coming
14:24
in like four minutes and i can't remember who
14:27
it was yeah one of the drivers was like that's
14:29
not yes yeah i can't remember who it was i mean
14:32
yeah i mean you i mean i think we had like norris
14:35
was like there was a couple of drivers that said
14:36
pretty much the same thing they were just like
14:39
At first, it was astonishment. Like, wait, really?
14:41
Like, level two? Seriously? Right? Because it
14:44
was, like, clear almost. Not the sky, but it
14:46
wasn't raining. And then all of a sudden, they
14:48
just got downpour. Yeah, it was brutal. I appreciate...
14:52
that they decided to go in opposing strategy
14:54
to try making a move and hoping that the interest
14:57
would be slow when they came out and just getting
14:59
a little bit more out of the hearts or the mediums
15:02
for max. Um, I don't think it ended up that way,
15:04
but he was fighting at the end of that. He was
15:07
pushing hard. Yeah. That was like two laps to
15:09
go. That, that second to last lap was absolutely
15:11
ridiculous. I mean, you could tell he was giving
15:13
the car everything it could handle and it just,
15:15
it could not. He could not keep up with the McLaren.
15:18
There's nothing else he could do. Now, I think
15:20
in dry conditions, who knows? Max is an outstanding
15:23
driver. I think we're going to still get some
15:25
fight from Max and the McLarens. He's not going
15:27
to make it easy. But what about Liam? Obviously,
15:31
yeah, he at least completed 46 laps. That was
15:35
bad. You know? No, I think his performance was
15:39
bad. I'll just say it outright. Yeah, I think
15:42
given the car that he's in, he was getting outclassed
15:46
by rookies. who literally were on their first
15:48
drive ever. And that's pretty bad. A driver who,
15:53
he has more experience. Yes, he is technically,
15:55
he is being classified as a rookie. But like,
15:58
he has experience. He has 11 races. And he's
16:00
in a Red Bull. And we see what that Red Bull
16:02
is capable of. His teammate was on the podium.
16:05
He was getting lapped by his teammate. But we
16:08
are not, we'd be clowning ourselves if we're
16:11
expecting a podium out of Liam. No, no, no, of
16:13
course. I think he should be at least P8 or better.
16:15
Right, yeah. For sure, if not. I'll even give
16:18
him because of the rain. And I also found out
16:21
he was on. Alonzo crashed. Carlos crashed. Those
16:24
are two veteran drivers that also had issues
16:26
with. Yeah, it was unforgiving. I also found
16:28
out that Max was on a different package than
16:31
he was. Max was on a newer package. So they brought
16:33
an upgrade to this that they didn't have prior
16:37
to the season. Is Liam going to get that upgrade?
16:39
Yeah, he'll get it in Melbourne. So Liam's getting
16:42
that this weekend. Or not in Melbourne, in China.
16:44
So Liam is getting that, but he did not have
16:47
that same package that Max did. So that could
16:49
have affected some of their performance. But
16:52
still, 18th is... You're not looking at multiple
16:56
second difference in a package. You're looking
16:58
at maybe a few tenths. I almost think it would
17:00
have been better if he crashed earlier. That
17:02
way we didn't have to see how he raced in the
17:04
Red Bull. I agree. I think we talked about it
17:08
last weekend. He needs to be competing with Kimmy,
17:12
more or less. And Kimmy blew him out of the water.
17:16
Not even close. Yeah, it wasn't even a contest.
17:18
But again, I seriously can't judge this race
17:22
for any of the rookies. Other than Kimmy, I'm
17:25
going to give him his flowers because it was
17:26
absolutely ridiculous. I mean, yeah. I can't
17:30
judge really any of the rookies in this race
17:33
in general just because, again, with Alonso and
17:36
Carlos also struggling, that holds a lot of weight
17:39
for me. This race was mentally trying for all
17:42
the drivers, so the fact you even finished is
17:45
outstanding. Obviously, Liam did not, but I want
17:48
to see what he can do in China. Now, if he's
17:50
hanging out around... P -15, 16, 17. Yeah. That's
17:55
a problem. I hear you. Yeah. Okay. I'm hopping
17:57
on that bandwagon. You know what I mean? I already
17:59
am not a Liam guy. We already agreed that we
18:02
all think, you too, right? I think, Joe, that
18:05
Yuki should have been in the car. 100%. We already
18:07
all thought that. He more than proved himself
18:09
this weekend that that was the case. Right, right.
18:11
Which is great. I hope this is like, I hope Yuki
18:15
has an amazing season and can get out. get out
18:18
of Red Bull and go somewhere else. But where
18:21
else is that going to be? I have no idea. I don't
18:22
know if there's going to be enough competition.
18:24
Maybe if there were a hypothetical new team starting
18:27
next year, maybe. Oh, yeah, that's true. That's
18:31
true. If only there were two more seats that
18:33
were opening up next year. Well, good thing that's
18:35
not happening. Mercedes, Georgie finishing P3,
18:41
obviously, and then Kimi finishing P4. I think
18:44
I said this to Mike as we were watching. I was
18:47
like, George just accidentally gets on the podium
18:50
so many times. So consistently. He's accidentally
18:52
consistent. It feels like. But he's actually
18:55
that good. Total Wolf came out after the race
18:58
and was like, George Russell is this good. You
19:02
guys don't understand. He gets more out of the
19:04
car than what he's given. That's literally what
19:07
he said. So he already knows the car's not awesome.
19:09
But the fact that George and Kimi... I mean,
19:12
oh, my God. I think this is a sneaky good race
19:14
for Mercedes that nobody's really going to talk
19:16
about. Why I put that in the notes is just because,
19:18
like, McLaren was outstanding. That's going to
19:21
go crazy, right? Yep. The rookie's crashing and
19:24
whatever. You know, that's going to go crazy,
19:27
as we just see Bordeaux Little right there. I
19:28
literally just watched. Sad face. Sad face. You
19:32
know what I mean? So I think this will fly under
19:34
the radar a little bit, but in the conditions,
19:36
again, it's a little colder, too, and that Mercedes
19:38
car likes colder weather. It always has. Who
19:41
knows why? But what a great way to start the
19:46
season if you're Mercedes. I'm not upset at all.
19:48
No. Yeah, it was an amazing drive from both drivers.
19:52
And, I mean, we have to talk about Kimi, right?
19:55
Starting P16, by the way. Yeah, starting P16.
19:59
You wanted him to get driver of the day. Lando
20:02
got it. Stand by that. He should have had it.
20:07
I like that take. Stand by that. Lando shouldn't
20:10
have gotten it. I think that's a fair take. Lando
20:12
drove great, but Kimmy drove incredibly. No,
20:14
yeah, you're right. I just think you're totally
20:16
right. It's hard to argue how dominating Lando
20:18
was. Yeah, exactly. That's the only thing. But
20:22
I don't disagree with you. I think it could have
20:24
gone either way. I didn't see what it was, but
20:27
I bet Kimmy was close, right? Lando only won
20:30
with like 20 points. Or something. It was ridiculously
20:32
low. The driver of the day voting was like crazy
20:37
low. Like Lando won with not a ton. Really? I
20:42
am curious what the layout was. Is that what
20:43
you're looking up, Joe? Yeah, I'm going to see
20:45
if... Does it exist for our viewing? Oh, it does.
20:47
Yeah. Oh, they show the breakdown. Am I wrong?
20:52
Let me guess. It was. Is Antonelli really far
20:54
down the list? Antonelli is not on the list.
20:57
No way. No way. So what was it? What? No. It
21:01
goes Lando, Oscar. Alex, Yuki, and Lewis. See,
21:06
this is my proof. So this is my proof. It's Australian,
21:10
though. This is my proof that people are not
21:13
voting on Driver of the Day based on who actually
21:16
drove the best, but just on who their favorite
21:18
driver is. They're like, man, you know what?
21:20
I love Lando Norris, and he won the race, so
21:23
I'm going to give it to him. And then they don't
21:26
vote for Max Verstappen, because why would you
21:27
vote for Max Verstappen? I mean, even though
21:31
he drove the absolute crap out of the car. I
21:33
mean, yeah, but he's Max Verstappen. So why would
21:35
we give him driver of the day? That's so interesting.
21:38
You're such a max agent. I'm very curious as
21:40
to why he's not on the list. Did he do anything?
21:42
He should have been. Was he not being impressive
21:44
earlier in the race? No. How could you not? Would
21:47
you go from P16 and finish P4? Oh, he spun out
21:50
once. Okay, he spun out once. Okay, and we had
21:52
five other cars that spun out and hit the wall.
21:54
But he still finished well. But he still, yeah,
21:55
he still. Maybe the strategy was just really
21:56
good at putting him in a good spot without him
21:58
having to overtake a lot. I don't know. Yeah,
22:00
he had to overtake a lot. I'm not sure. Yeah,
22:03
I mean, you would hope so. I don't care. That's
22:07
dang impressive. It's very, very impressive.
22:10
I said that weekend that I would not be surprised
22:14
if any of the rookies were not in the points,
22:16
and he's exceeded that expectation. By a pretty
22:20
wide margin. I'm really excited to see what he
22:23
keeps doing. I unfortunately don't think this
22:26
is going to be incredibly common for Mercedes.
22:28
I think this is probably a little bit of a one
22:30
-off just because of how weird the race was with
22:32
the rain and everyone kind of crashing out. I'll
22:35
give you that for Kimi. Sure. I think Kimi's
22:38
going to be real. I think George will be consistently.
22:39
I think Kimi's realistically like P7 to P10,
22:42
but I think he could be consistently in points
22:44
or at least fighting for points every race. I
22:47
think George has a real outside shot. I'm not
22:51
going to say compete for WDC because that's real.
22:54
But podiums. But I think podiums are absolutely
22:59
a real possibility, if not every other week,
23:03
every week for George Russell. I do need to play
23:06
devil's advocate on that, though. It is pretty
23:09
well documented that George likes driving in
23:11
the wet and typically drives pretty well in the
23:13
wet. And this was the wet, so this is a scenario
23:17
in which George, in theory, should be doing better.
23:20
So there's a possibility. We need to wait and
23:22
see what he does in the dry. No, I agree 100%.
23:25
But there's a reason why you and I have George
23:27
finishing fifth in the WDC. You know, we think
23:30
he can compete in these races with, you know.
23:34
The likes of Ferrari and Red Bull. Obviously,
23:36
McLaren's going to be probably in the league
23:38
of their own this year. Probably, yeah, I would
23:39
imagine. Kimi started P16. There were a lot of
23:44
cars above him that DNF'd. So I'm not saying
23:48
that those positions are just given to him. Because
23:51
I'm sure he probably would have been fighting
23:52
some of them. But I would keep that in mind,
23:54
too, a little bit. I'm going to throw my stuff.
23:58
Joe, he's still finished P4. I don't care. I
24:01
want to. I'm going to throw something across
24:03
the room. Just so we kind of clear it, he did
24:07
get a penalty. It was overturned. That's awesome.
24:09
Happy for that. I'm really impressed that he
24:11
got P4. But, Clarence, sorry, Mercedes as a whole.
24:15
I need to like teams that have different enough
24:18
names because they're too close together. Mercedes
24:20
as a whole. I just don't think this is going
24:23
to be a common occurrence. I think that it's
24:25
just a weird race. George is good in the wet.
24:27
A lot of people crashed. Again, they both drive
24:30
really well. One of them got a podium out of
24:32
it, but I just don't think that's going to be
24:34
their strength. going forward i think they were
24:36
both a little surprised maybe with the with how
24:39
they got there too george definitely seemed surprised
24:41
right oh in the in the end of the race interviews
24:44
like he was just he seemed very humble and grateful
24:47
they all seemed relieved though that it was over
24:51
oh my god like they were just like yeah i'm glad
24:53
most of all he's like i'm coming i'm really happy
24:56
that was done All right, Williams, Albon finishing
25:00
P5, Carlos DNF, but Albon P5. Let's go. Both
25:05
of them qualified really well. Albon finishing
25:07
P5, almost P4 with the penalty, but I'll take
25:10
a P5. That's what I want to see from a Williams
25:13
at the start. I don't know if they can hold on
25:15
to that for the whole season. They look pretty
25:17
good. But you can't complain about that. Lower
25:19
tier teams, they go from being really good at
25:22
one end of the season and then really bad at
25:24
the other end of the season. So I don't know.
25:26
I'm hoping it. It sticks through. If they can
25:29
keep up pace and consistency that we saw that
25:33
they were doing this last weekend, then I think
25:36
they're probably the biggest contender for fifth
25:39
by that standard. I would like that. Let me just
25:46
see where you had them here. Oh, you have Williams
25:48
as an eighth son. Very far down. I have Williams
25:51
in ninth. I did not expect them to do that well.
25:54
Eighth, actually. You have V -Car below them.
25:56
Oh, that makes so much more sense. Thank you.
25:58
He's like, oh, my God. Oh, thank God. But, yeah,
26:01
no, I was on the lookout for Williams when I
26:04
did that, but I just wasn't expecting that they
26:05
would bring the car, and it looks like they might
26:07
have brought the car. But, again, this race,
26:09
like we keep saying, it could be an anomaly,
26:11
right? Like, it feels like an anomaly. Like,
26:13
we, you know, wait till the dry, right? We're
26:15
all waiting for where I'm excited to see the
26:17
rookies in the dry. You know, we'll get into
26:19
it. There is only a 5 % chance of rain in China
26:23
this weekend. So you're going to bring three
26:26
different sets of inners. Of inners. Maybe a
26:28
set of wets. Just to be sure. We never know 5%.
26:32
But Carlos did DNF now. After, did you see how
26:38
he went to the pit wall after? Yeah. He was very
26:41
crucial. He put a headset on and was giving advice
26:44
to Albon. He was extremely crucial in their decision
26:48
to box when they did. At the end, he was like,
26:50
turn blah, blah, and blah. No, you're not going
26:55
to make it type deal. So they boxed, and he ended
26:57
up being right, and he finished P5. So Carlos
26:59
was huge. and right now like williams feels really
27:02
good about the team aspect and they're really
27:05
excited for the season so it's exciting for them
27:07
to finish p5 even though there's dnf but looking
27:09
for more there it's it's really nice to see carlos
27:13
not just like go off and sulk in his he's not
27:15
that kind of guy but like it's really cool that
27:17
he was able to stick in the race a little bit
27:19
and like help his team get some points only makes
27:21
me like carlos more i love carlos he's such a
27:25
good driver such a cool dude all right all right
27:27
uh aston martin uh let's see alonzo dnf I'm completed.
27:31
32 laps. Uh, stroll piece six. Um, that's it.
27:36
Period. No flowers. Period. Boom. Period. Or
27:38
in my notes, uh, Sauber. No, I'm just kidding.
27:41
Um, but good for stroll, right? Yeah. Uh, sure.
27:44
All right. Sweet. Yeah. Let's leave it. I do.
27:46
I do want to point out that I am a little excited
27:48
to see. I mean, he is wearing an ass. This is
27:51
about Alonzo. Actually, I'm excited to see Alonzo
27:53
this weekend. Uh, well right now they're probably
27:56
my second favorite, but like, that's no, that's
27:59
a lie. They would probably be my third. I think
28:00
McLaren's my second, but that's beside the point.
28:02
Nice. Um, you got all 10 teams. I think I do.
28:05
Yep. Uh, but no, so, uh, Alonso stated the fact
28:09
that he felt like there was more in that car
28:12
that he didn't get this weekend and that he felt
28:14
like he was really frustrated and he was expressing
28:17
a lot of frustration that he's like, I could
28:18
have done better and I didn't. He's like, I,
28:20
there's more in this car and I'm going to get
28:22
it out. So I think, he potentially could be a
28:26
challenger in China this weekend in the dry.
28:29
A challenger as in what? Challenger for podium?
28:32
Okay, well, I mean. Or like challenger like P5,
28:35
like top five. Maybe like P5 to P10. Yeah, all
28:37
right. I don't see him getting any higher than
28:38
that. Getting points. Like getting points, yeah.
28:40
Yeah, yeah. Does Stroll get points this weekend?
28:43
Well, maybe. I mean, he could just put himself
28:45
there. Stroll is okay. And as long as he can
28:48
keep it clean. With all the rookies in the grid
28:50
right now, maybe he. Or maybe this is his time.
28:54
Maybe this is Stroll's time. Maybe he repeats
28:57
China last year. I can't even say it with a straight
29:00
face either. Maybe he'll just drive into the
29:02
back of Jack Doohan or Oscar Piastri or some
29:05
other Australian. We'll get to Jack. Sorry, was
29:08
that a little bit of salt? Imagine Stroll just
29:10
wakes up this season and is like... I think I
29:12
want to drive an F1 car now. It's about time.
29:17
It could have happened. Maybe. Yeah, maybe he
29:18
got some motivation. He went on a darkness retreat.
29:20
Maybe his dad was like, you're gone this season
29:22
if you don't do anything. Maybe. Maybe. Start
29:25
hitting him a little bit. No, I'm just kidding.
29:27
Jesus. That got dark. Sober. I'm so excited.
29:31
Technical difficulties. No, anyway, let's see.
29:34
Hulk finishing P7, Bortoletto hitting the wall
29:37
pretty darn hard, but he's all right looking
29:39
to regroup. But, I mean, Sovereign points, none
29:41
of us probably saw that coming. No, not even
29:44
close. So with Stroll finishing P6, Hulk finishing
29:47
P7, does that prove how crazy of a race this
29:50
is? Yeah, so amazing. And Hulkenberg was also
29:52
saying, he's like, I wasn't expecting to be here.
29:54
He's like, I'll be honest, I didn't think the
29:56
car could do this. But he's like... Sauber had
29:59
a problem last year with the car in the back
30:01
half of the race, and they may have fixed that.
30:04
He's like, the car felt great, and this was an
30:08
unexpected surprise, and I'm happy about it.
30:10
That's good. And I do believe that I said last
30:12
weekend that I said Nico Hulkenberg was going
30:13
to be scoring some points this year. You did
30:15
say that. And you guys looked at me like I was
30:17
crazy. Like he was nuts. I said Nico Hulkenberg
30:21
is going to score a few points. And you guys
30:23
were like, what? Anomaly. We've already determined
30:26
this is an anomaly race. So we'll see. So going
30:29
from here. Going from here. Going from here.
30:34
No more points. I could see Nico Hulkenberg in
30:37
10th this weekend. I think I don't see Bortoletto.
30:40
I mean, we almost saw Bortoletto getting points,
30:43
but I don't see Bortoletto getting points. This
30:46
was a weird race, right? Bortoletto actually
30:48
drove really well up until he just lost traction.
30:52
And actually, this was one of my notes that I
30:53
had. You know how we were talking when we were
30:55
watching the race? We were like, it looked like
30:56
Bortoletto's wheel broke before he even hit the
30:59
wall. hit before he he spun yeah um i think and
31:05
i think that's probably what you know they they
31:07
announced the fact that he had a suspension or
31:09
a suspension issue yeah and he hit that curb
31:12
and it just like was launched destroyed yeah
31:15
yeah destroyed interesting i didn't know the
31:17
wall yeah like so i did not hear that as he was
31:19
spinning you could seal the wheel just Yeah,
31:21
you can see it before he even touched the wall.
31:23
So that's actually the reason why he crashed.
31:26
I don't even think that's on him, per se. I think
31:29
he did get hit by something before he spun. I
31:32
don't know if he got tapped or something. I'm
31:34
almost positive he tapped something. But either
31:36
way, yeah, I'm sure it was mostly just like a
31:40
suspension issue, probably. It's an anomaly.
31:45
I don't think it's going to happen again. I don't
31:46
think Hulkenberg is going to get that many points
31:48
again. I don't think he's going to get that many.
31:49
But I love seeing that they're on the board.
31:51
Fighting for B10? That's a possibility. I like
31:53
Salver, so this was cool. It's a possibility.
31:56
Ferrari. Wee bit of a disappointment. However,
32:02
I do think this was a strategy thing for the
32:04
most part. They just stayed out too long. They
32:07
tried to send it. The slicks don't work when
32:11
it rains. Believe it or not. But again, with
32:13
how much the weather was changing, you were either
32:16
going to box or not, right? And then Gasly, I'll
32:21
get to him, he fell into the same thing. Alpina
32:24
also felt confident that they should have stayed
32:25
out. Yuki kind of came out and blamed. We'll
32:29
get to Racing Bulls 2 in a minute. But Yuki kind
32:31
of came out and blamed the strategy a little
32:32
bit. Otherwise, he would have finished a little
32:34
bit better. So strategy did play a key part here
32:37
for Ferrari. But all in all... A wee bit disappointing,
32:41
especially considering I've picked them. Oh,
32:45
I did not pick them to win constructors. I'm
32:47
sorry. I picked Charles to win WDC, though. It
32:49
doesn't look good for him, though. No, no, no.
32:51
And it also doesn't look good for the constructors
32:53
at the moment because I was just horrible. But,
32:55
again, anomaly, dry next week. We're going to
32:57
keep saying it over and over and over. But for
33:00
me, the thing that stuck out and probably do
33:02
a lot of, you know, fair weather fans is going
33:04
to be Lewis kind of. clapping back, if you will,
33:08
a little bit at his engineer. Which kind of makes
33:12
sense because they kept asking him the same dang
33:13
thing over and over and he kept telling them
33:15
no. And again, without mentally taxing this race.
33:20
While he's trying to race, while I'm trying to
33:23
talk and you just hear that, that's going to
33:24
be ridiculous. So I can't blame him. It's a honeymoon
33:30
phase even though that was tough. He'll learn.
33:33
That being said, There's obviously some kind
33:37
of disconnect team wide because Charles had to
33:39
also tell his engineer to stop talking to him.
33:41
Right. So I'm sure it'll be fixed by, I'm sure
33:43
it'll be fixed by China. If it isn't, then did
33:46
you hear it? Uh, I, I overheard, I guess, um,
33:49
at one point, uh, while Lewis Hamilton was like,
33:52
was like, yeah, man, leave me to it. He forgot
33:54
to turn his microphone off and started saying,
33:56
uh, expletives really on radio. Yeah. So he started,
34:00
yeah, I guess he, he said a few expletives over
34:02
the radio and, uh, People who were watching from
34:06
his POV got to hear all that stuff. Wow. I wonder
34:09
what they said. I guess I know after the race,
34:11
he did kind of come out and say, quote, it went
34:13
a lot worse than I thought it would go. Yeah.
34:15
He was a little frustrated. He just disappointed.
34:17
You know, obviously, he wanted to go well. You
34:19
know, first race, new team, especially a legendary
34:21
team like Ferrari. Right. You know, you're trying
34:23
to win your eighth set of records. You know,
34:25
I get it. I get all of that. Right. But I think
34:27
I heard this was like one of the worst, like.
34:31
Showings from a seasoned driver moving to Ferrari
34:33
that we've seen in a long time. Ah, anomaly.
34:37
Wet. Anomaly wet. Anomaly wet. Did you find it?
34:41
Are you looking for something? I was looking,
34:42
but I can't find it. I doubt anyone's going to
34:45
have it. Well, they're not going to put that
34:46
out for Sir Lewis. They don't want to ruin his
34:49
image. Alpine, Gasly finishing P11, also falling
34:53
victim to strategy and trying to stay out to
34:56
gain an advantage, and then it started raining
34:57
again. uh for like the fifth time so uh yeah
35:03
whatever that's all right uh alpine's very confident
35:05
yeah jack doing yeah doing crash slap i'm not
35:08
yeah he didn't even complete a lap i'm not even
35:11
worried actually as a quote -unquote alpine fan
35:14
um i think i'd like i need to see like five races
35:17
right five dry races at that you know five non
35:21
crate pure craziness whatever the heck's going
35:23
on um do you remember what i said after Jack
35:27
and then, you know, Gasly finished 11. Do you
35:29
remember what I said around that time when we
35:31
were watching? No, I don't. Flavio giveth, Flavio
35:34
taketh away. I actually heard that after the
35:37
race, Flavio came out and was defending Jack
35:38
Dewitt. That's good. Which is surprising. Maybe
35:42
DTS just paints him in a really bad light. I
35:44
mean, he has a bad past, but like maybe he's
35:47
not actually as bad as he seems. And Oliver Oaks
35:50
came out and said, now I think this was to...
35:55
This might have been on Monday, yesterday. But
35:58
anyway, whatever. Oliver Oaks came out and kind
36:00
of said, like, all the hoopla around Jack doing,
36:03
you know, possibly getting replaced already is
36:06
partially our own doing. He pretty much said,
36:09
like, quote, like. And Alpine has taken some
36:12
responsibility for the whole Colpinto and kind
36:15
of starting that vibe. So, I mean, that's kind
36:19
of got to give a little bit more confidence to
36:21
Jack Doohan after not even completing a lap.
36:23
So he's claiming that they're the ones spreading
36:25
the rumor to maybe put pressure on him? At least
36:28
not helping the situation. Oh, so they didn't
36:31
come out and deny it when they should have? Like,
36:32
that should have been... Yeah, right, right.
36:34
That's good to hear. Essentially. I mean, if
36:36
you're Jack doing that, at least it makes you
36:38
feel at least a little bit better. Now, whether
36:40
they're just trying to save face as Alpine and
36:42
we know they've done this sort of thing, this
36:44
sort of dance before. But I don't know. I thought
36:47
that was intriguing. And I'm interested to see
36:50
what Jack does this weekend. Yep. You know, Racing
36:54
Bulls, Yuki P12 could have been a lot better.
36:57
He qualified really well, was running very well
37:01
for most of the race. It just, you know, it is
37:04
what it is. He was holding back. Who was that?
37:06
George? No. Who is he holding back? Lewis? Or
37:10
Leclerc? Charles. Charles, yeah. Yeah, he was
37:13
holding back Charles Leclerc pretty much the
37:15
entire race. Like, Charles just could not get
37:18
past Yuki Tsunoda. Like, at all. Yeah, he was
37:21
racing well. Isaac, poor fella. I feel so bad
37:26
for him. You guys had notes of his emotions.
37:29
Yep. Yeah. it's just, yeah, it's tough to see.
37:34
I definitely, I mean, I think in general, he's
37:36
a very emotional driver. We've seen him, we've
37:38
seen him be emotional in the past. And I think
37:40
that's fine. I think it adds, you know, character
37:42
to a person. Um, I put a note here, Marco did
37:46
come out and criticize him for being so emotional
37:48
and showing it. It's like, what, what do you
37:50
do? What did he say? I didn't, I didn't, I know
37:53
I heard something, but I didn't see what he really
37:54
said. He said something about like, it was, he
37:58
was disappointed in how unprofessional, uh, Isaac
38:03
Hajar's emotional state was or something like
38:05
that. I remember he said something about unprofessional...
38:09
I mean, it's your first F1 race and you don't
38:12
even get to complete a lap. Yeah, you don't even
38:14
get to start. You don't even get off the starting
38:15
line. That's so embarrassing. That's tough, man.
38:21
Yeah, that's messed up. I did not know he said
38:23
that. You're pulling it up, but also I feel like
38:25
he's also got to be slightly worried because
38:27
I've heard... I heard today there's been some
38:30
rumors going around that Red Bull has put in
38:33
a request for the super license for Arvid Lindblad.
38:38
Another rookie? Yeah. So they are requesting
38:41
that he can get his super license. And if that's
38:45
the case, then I feel like if I'm Isaac Hajar
38:48
and I just crashed before even starting the race,
38:51
I'm probably a little worried because I'm like.
38:53
Are they already looking to replace me? That's
38:55
dumb. I think... It's too soon for them to do
38:57
that. Unless you're trying to get him... Where's
38:58
he racing right now? Who? You're the... He's
39:17
still driving in Formula 2. He is Formula 2 right
39:25
now. From Isaac's... perspective, I could see
39:30
that be worrying. I just think Red Bull's really
39:32
good at keeping their options open. They are.
39:35
I don't think I would be too worried about it
39:37
actually happening if they're so early in the
39:39
stages of even getting a super license. But it's
39:44
definitely something to keep in mind. Red Bull,
39:47
once again, cutthroat, always has their options
39:49
open. Just kind of going back to Helmut really
39:52
quickly. I can't get his exact quote. I think
39:54
he probably said it. I think he said it to an
39:56
Austrian news outlet. So it's probably translated
39:59
and stuff. But he used the words. He had stated
40:04
that Hadjar put on a tearful show and then added
40:07
it was a bit embarrassing, which is not cool
40:11
to say. Horner did come out, I think, pretty
40:13
much immediately after and say that he was gutted,
40:16
rather that it was heart -wrenching to see Isaac
40:19
so gutted that it was his first Grand Prix, and
40:22
there's still positives that he needs to take
40:24
from it. So Horner seemed pretty understanding,
40:26
but Marco is just being helmet. He's helmet,
40:32
right? still come on man like get in the car
40:36
then i guess right like what's like yeah god
40:39
forbid all right all right haas a couple minutes
40:41
go haas yeah so uh then we gotta move on that
40:44
was uh that was a bad join yeah bad join not
40:47
good not good around bad qualifying from uh oliver
40:50
he did still finish They both finished the race.
40:55
That's huge. Considering you look at all the
40:58
people who crashed, really good drivers too.
41:01
Even some of the better drivers were spinning
41:04
out. Leclerc even spun out. It's tough conditions.
41:09
Oscar and Lando both flew off the track. Lando
41:11
ended up winning the race. Pierre went landscaping
41:16
too. I think it was just a not great showing.
41:18
I still think they did okay. I don't think we're
41:22
going to actually know their actual speed. Everybody
41:24
today is coming out saying how slow Haas is.
41:27
And for me, as a non -really Haas fan, I'm like,
41:30
just stop, though. Like, we can't. We just can't.
41:33
This was a weird race. We've said it a million
41:35
times. Now, if they're 19 -20 next week, that's
41:37
a huge concern. Yeah. Which is something that,
41:40
again, on what you said last week, Joe, about...
41:44
It's not the car, it's the drivers, and I totally
41:46
agree with you. I think if they were returning
41:48
the same drivers or switching out KMAG4, even
41:52
if it was Ollie, I think they would be doing
41:55
better. But again, this race is weird, but if
41:59
Haas is the last two, even if they're in the
42:01
last four, I'm concerned. They should not be
42:05
that low. I mean, I still picked them to finish
42:06
ninth in constructors, but they shouldn't be
42:09
there. They had a better car last year. I was
42:12
a little disappointed in their performance. But,
42:14
you know, like I said, it was a weird weekend.
42:16
They were both struggling. They were having a
42:19
hard time in the wet. And Haas is notoriously
42:22
bad in the wet. Well, he came back last year.
42:26
I mean, it was a ridiculous run for a couple
42:29
laps. I mean, fair. Anyway. I imagine Io probably
42:33
went to Bairdman and was like, hey, just finish
42:35
the race. Don't care if you get a good place,
42:37
just drive. Keep it on the road. That's all we
42:41
need you to do. They did, in some of their interviews,
42:45
Ocon mentioned how it was unexpected how poor
42:47
that their car was. They mentioned that they
42:49
tried a strategy that seemed to be working for
42:51
their teams, but it did not work for them. So
42:53
they have to take that back. And then Bearman
42:55
was just relieved he finished the race. They
42:57
did have some weird strategies that they were
43:00
going. They were pitting in really weird times.
43:02
I believe it says... They pitted for slicks under
43:05
safety car conditions, and that did not pay off.
43:07
So, yeah, it's unfortunate. I did not place them
43:11
last. Obviously, there's DNFs, but they did finish
43:15
last of the running cars. I would not have placed
43:18
them there last week, but it's kind of where
43:22
we're at right now. Hopefully, they come back
43:23
in a dry track, and they're actually looking
43:25
okay. My intuition says we're probably not. I'm
43:30
a little worried. Like I said, I'm really hoping
43:32
that this looks better. On the dry and Haas typically
43:36
has pretty good straight line speeds. And China
43:39
is the biggest straight in the F1 track list.
43:44
So yeah, that might make a difference. But yeah,
43:47
I'm a little worried as a Haas fan, but I'm optimistic.
43:51
I'm hopeful. That's all you can do. That's all
43:53
I can do. All right, Kev. Let's head into our
43:56
news segment. And before we hit our one news
44:11
topic, we do have a new segment. We don't have
44:13
a name for it yet, so we'll throw it here. There's
44:15
just a really good comm that we heard this past
44:18
weekend that was fairly funny. LeClaire radioed
44:23
and said, is there a leakage? Engineer says,
44:27
a leakage of what? LeClaire responds, I have
44:29
the seat full of water, like full of water. Engineer
44:33
responds, well, it must be water. So LeClaire
44:36
says, let's add that to the words of wisdom.
44:39
So we just thought it was funny and we wanted
44:41
to share it. We're going to look out for different
44:43
random things. I can't remember the other ideas
44:45
we came up with. I don't have the notes in front
44:47
of me, but one of them was kind of our favorite
44:49
comms. So I don't know if you guys heard anything
44:51
else, but that one kind of stuck out. Obviously,
44:53
we all kind of chuckled at that one. Yeah, the
44:55
best comms, definitely that was by far the best.
44:57
Best Com we heard. I chuckled after hearing that.
45:00
Ferrari came, I think Ferrari taking the lead
45:02
just for Best Coms this race with both drivers
45:05
having to clap back at telling them to stop talking
45:07
to them a little bit. And then mixed, like third
45:10
best would be just like drivers shock at like
45:13
the huge rain out of nowhere. Oh, that's not
45:15
good. What? Yeah. That's not good. Yeah, I'd
45:18
love to get that. Gosh, I can't remember who
45:20
said that. I can't either. Let's see. But the
45:23
one little bit of news we have, I did not add
45:25
this so somebody else is going to have to share.
45:26
Stricter mini DRS regs from China onward. I'm
45:31
glad you put that in. I did add this, and I added
45:33
a link to it. Basically, the mini DRS issue that
45:39
the FIA has tried to combat with new regs, new
45:42
rules. They saw it still happening a bit despite
45:48
the new rules on the straights with specifically
45:51
the McLaren and I believe the Mercedes. I think
45:54
Red Bull ended up complaining a little bit, but
45:56
either way, FIA saw it. So they are implementing
45:59
stricter rules on it for this coming race to
46:02
make sure that it does not happen as much. Long
46:07
story short, mini DRS still happening, stricter
46:09
rules coming. I don't know if you have anything
46:10
to add to that. I don't really know. It was noticed
46:13
on the McLaren. Yep, McLaren. I think what I
46:18
was hearing is that one of the teams of the front
46:20
runners, one of the teams that was benefiting
46:22
the least from a quote -unquote mini DRS was
46:25
Ferrari, and obviously they struggled. So if
46:30
the FIA kind of cracked down on the top runners
46:32
and get them to pull this... pull this back and
46:35
that slows down some of these cars, then that
46:37
could bring Ferrari a little bit closer to the
46:39
front runners again. So that might make a little
46:41
bit of a difference for Ferrari this weekend.
46:43
Right. To confirm, Mercedes and McLaren were
46:47
both seen using it, and FIA has already come
46:50
out and said they didn't break any rules, it's
46:51
just the rules we put in place did not work as
46:53
well as we hoped. Should I state what the statement
46:56
says that they brought out with? Yeah, if you
46:58
want to. As has been previously communicated
47:00
between the end of 2024 season and the start
47:02
of the 2025 season, the FIA exercised the authority
47:05
it is granted under Article 3 .15 .1 of the technical
47:09
regulations, of course. You guys have read up
47:12
on that. To introduce either new... or more challenging
47:15
load deflection tests for the front wing, the
47:17
upper rear wing, and the beam rear wing. In addition,
47:21
the FIA requested the teams to use cameras in
47:23
free practice sessions to monitor the on -track
47:25
deformations exhibited by the cars during the
47:28
Australian Grand Prix. Having analyzed this footage
47:31
from the rear wing deformations combined to the
47:33
static deflections measured inside the FIA garage
47:35
in Melbourne, the FIA has concluded that sufficient
47:38
grounds exist for a tougher test to be introduced
47:40
from the forthcoming Chinese Grand Prix on the
47:43
upper rear wing. wing so it says from the forthcoming
47:46
so i think that means after china yeah so they
47:49
actually have time to they have a little bit
47:50
of time so that means if if we are to just wait
47:54
everything on this one rule mclaren should still
47:57
be very fast this upcoming weekend i don't think
47:59
we can do that i don't think we we shouldn't
48:01
do that but but if they are it would be interesting
48:04
to see yep um so yeah that's that's the yeah
48:08
that's pretty much it that we have on that news.
48:10
Fair enough. Let's see if the McLarens are that
48:13
fast this weekend. With that, speaking of this
48:16
weekend, Kev, let's head right into our China
48:18
preview. Right. We're looking forward to the
48:33
Formula One Heineken Chinese Grand Prix. I'm
48:39
going to bring you up to speed on the race coming
48:42
up with a look at what last year's race looked
48:44
like. As always, a quick fun fact. This circuit
48:48
is designed to look like the Chinese symbol for
48:50
Shang, meaning upwards. And another quick fun
48:53
fact, the first Grand Prix was in 2004. And the
48:57
lap record is held by Michael Schumacher. For
49:02
this track, just in general, overall lap record
49:04
held by Michael Schumacher, who made it in 2004
49:07
as well. So it's never been broken. I don't know
49:09
how crazy the cars were, but that's been the
49:11
fastest car that's been on this track. All those
49:13
years ago by our boy, Michael. Interesting. Yeah,
49:15
that's interesting. I didn't know that. Looking
49:17
at last year's race, our starting grid was Max,
49:20
Sergio, hey, rest in peace, Fernando, Lando,
49:24
and Oscar. He is still alive. I'm sorry. He'll
49:26
be back next season. I shouldn't say it. Whoa.
49:29
Did we catch that? Sergio will be back next season.
49:34
He's got the tinfoil hat and we're good. Lights
49:38
out. And the Red Bulls get a good start to turn
49:41
one, but Fernando gets a better one, rocketing
49:43
ahead of Perez and second, taking his spot behind
49:46
the current world champion. For a moment, he
49:48
looks like he is going to battle Max at the end
49:50
of this turn, but slots in just behind him. Slightly
49:53
down the grid, Mike's boy Hulkenberg takes two
49:55
places away from both Ferraris for P7 by the
49:58
end of the first turn. Charles is able to take
50:00
his position back by the end of the lap, making
50:02
a Ferrari engine sandwich with Haas in the middle,
50:04
and Sainz takes his position back at the end
50:07
of the starting straight. For a moment there,
50:09
Haas was beating Ferrari, and then by the end
50:12
of the lap, they weren't. But that's okay. Haas
50:14
was still, you know, they showed up. On lap five,
50:16
Perez makes the move on Alonso and retakes his
50:19
P2. Ten laps later, Lando makes the same move
50:23
and takes the final podium position from our
50:25
most seasoned driver. In another two laps, Leclerc
50:28
takes sixth from the Mercedes of George Russell
50:30
and then takes the next spot from Piastri on
50:32
lap 12. There's a lot of movement happening in
50:34
the first part of the race in the upper end of
50:35
the field. Lap 21, we get our first retirement.
50:38
Botas, billowing smoke, pulls off the track and
50:40
ends his time at China, bringing out the virtual
50:42
safety car and eventually the safety car. The
50:45
Red Bull strategy brings Max and Perez in for
50:47
their second pair of pits. Max keeps the first
50:49
place, but Perez loses position to Lando and
50:51
Leclerc. On the safety car restart, down the
50:54
queue of cars waiting to get on the move again.
50:56
I know you both remember this moment. Stroll
50:58
runs into the back of Danny Rick, sending him
51:00
in the air and down a couple positions. Stroll
51:02
ends up pitting for damage control. All the meanwhile,
51:05
the other V -Carb of Sonoda experiences a puncture
51:07
on the track after a collision with K -Mag. He
51:10
pulls off the track and retires on the spot.
51:14
The two problem children of the track, Stroll
51:16
and K -Mag, end up fighting each other for 16th
51:18
place on lap 34. Pushing each other wide and
51:23
going back and forth. Stroll eventually taking
51:26
position after half a lap of continuous fighting
51:28
with each other. No joke. The fight between Stroll
51:32
and A -Live was crazy. It was so much fun. They
51:35
were fighting for 16th place. I was yelling at
51:37
my monitor. I think I remember they cut away
51:40
from the race to show the front runners. I was
51:42
like, this isn't what I want to be watching.
51:44
Show me 16th. Crazy. It was so crazy. All the
51:49
while, unfortunately, Danny Rick does retire,
51:51
making it a double DNF for V -Carb. On lap 39,
51:55
Paris starts to fight for that final podium position
51:58
with Leclerc and ends up victorious. Alonso needs
52:01
to pit after running softs since the safety car
52:03
and does so, losing a handful of positions. This
52:06
is kind of where it gets interesting. This is
52:08
not the end of the race for him. We watch as
52:10
he claws his way back up from 11th to 7th. A
52:14
mega drive to end the race for Alonso. Unfortunately,
52:16
not making it back to his podium position where
52:18
he started, but still really showing he is a
52:22
7th? No. No. Whoa. How many times has he won
52:27
WDC, Alonzo? Twice? Twice. A two -time WDC, a
52:30
seasoned veteran. This is Max's first win in
52:34
China. The final order, top 10, Verstappen to
52:37
Norris, Paris to Leclerc, Sainz to Russell, Alonzo
52:41
to Piastri, Hamilton to Hulkenberg. So if I were
52:44
to take anything, I was thinking about this while
52:47
we were talking. Obviously, Paris isn't here
52:50
anymore. He's still alive, people. Let's just
52:53
make sure. Joe keeps talking like Sergio is God.
52:57
Okay, the first time it was intentional, that
52:59
was a poor choice of words, though. The Red Bull
53:02
looks kind of quick on this track, so I wouldn't
53:05
count Max out. I definitely would not put...
53:08
Are you picking Max? I wouldn't put Liam on the
53:11
podium, but Max could still be pretty quick on
53:13
this track. Anyway. That was the recap for China
53:20
last year. I just had to look at the highlights
53:21
quick of China and skip to the battle of K -Meg.
53:25
I was going through the highlights while writing
53:28
this, and I just had to stop writing and just
53:30
be like, what are they doing? What's happening
53:32
right now? And they were neck and neck for a
53:34
minute. That was insane. I do also want to point
53:36
out, I thought I heard Lewis has won in China
53:39
six times more than any other driver. That's
53:42
very possible. Now, I don't think Lewis is going
53:45
to win this weekend. Not in the Ferrari? Not
53:48
if he doesn't hit K1. I mean, that's a good point.
53:51
I think maybe he should try pressing K1. Actually,
53:53
Kev sent me a hilarious picture today of an F1
53:57
steering wheel, and it was like Lewis' steering
54:00
wheel, and it had like... 50 buttons and they
54:03
were all cable that's so funny it's hilarious
54:06
oh yeah you said yeah that's that was funny i
54:10
also forgot to bring up in the news just a little
54:13
thing so lando won this race right which means
54:15
that lando is now leading constructors which
54:18
makes this the first time a driver has led constructors
54:21
that isn't max verstappen in over a thousand
54:25
days let's Go. Over a thousand days. Let's go.
54:30
I was going to say, I thought it was Red Bull
54:32
in general, but that doesn't make sense. Yeah.
54:35
Oh, yeah. I had Antonelli's second youngest driver
54:37
to score points in F1. Oh, that also is true.
54:39
I forgot about that. Behind Max. Wow. Those both
54:41
would have been excellent news tidbits that we
54:43
didn't put in our news segment. We just totally
54:44
forgot. For sure. Kind of on me, my bad. You
54:46
were right, by the way. Lewis is the most seasoned
54:50
driver in terms of wins here. And Mercedes is
54:52
also the most seasoned constructor in terms of
54:54
wins here. Both with six. Sometimes. Not together,
54:57
though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's rather interesting.
55:00
Yeah, so Lewis is very good on this track. Also,
55:02
Max is good on this track, too. Is George good
55:04
on this track? I don't think he's as good. The
55:07
only other driver with multiple wins here, Fernando
55:09
Alonso and Nico Roseberg, with two. So, you know,
55:13
if Max wins here, he joins a very short list,
55:16
which is cool. Is it cool? Let's see, let's see.
55:19
Okay, so points last week, just to recap, we
55:24
get... One point for each correct driver on the
55:27
podium, doesn't matter the order. You get a bonus
55:30
point for each driver you get in that place,
55:33
right? So Lando winning. Mike got a point for
55:37
him on the podium and got a point for him winning.
55:39
But then he chose Oscar and Charles and didn't
55:41
get anything else. Joe. Had Oscar winning followed
55:45
by Lando and Max. He did get the two points for
55:49
having Lando and Max on the podium. Did not get
55:51
any bonus points. I just wanted my Australian
55:53
up there, man. Me, I put Oscar, Charles, and
55:57
it wasn't looking good, but then I had George
55:59
in third and got it right. See, I told you. I
56:01
told you he had George in third. So now I got...
56:05
I'm tied with you guys. So the bonus points are
56:08
working. You are so lucky. I know. I told you.
56:11
That's crazy. When we were watching, he goes,
56:13
well, Smelty, is podium again? I kept on messaging
56:15
Smelty. I was like, what were your predictions?
56:18
Because I stopped messaging after a while because
56:20
I was just locked into the race because it was
56:22
just getting intense. That's fair. I was like,
56:24
I can't remember what he put, but I think we're
56:26
ahead of him. I didn't make a thing yet. I'll
56:28
put it in the drive. No, that's a hot week. That
56:31
was so. We're tied. We're all tied. That's crazy.
56:34
I feel good. I like the bonus points. I don't.
56:36
I need to be. I like the bonus points. Yeah,
56:38
it's good. It worked out. It's working out. But
56:40
if you think about it, yeah, I only got one driver
56:42
on the podium, you know, but because it was the
56:45
right place. You know what I mean? Hey, same.
56:47
It's interesting. Same. Oh, true. He only had
56:50
one guy, too. It was the right position as well.
56:54
It's going to be good. It's going to be good.
56:56
There might be a weekend where one of us just
56:58
sweeps and takes like six points. It's going
57:01
to be awesome. It's going to happen. With that
57:03
then, since we have no leader, Mike, you start.
57:08
Yeah, I was expecting that. I don't know why.
57:12
It was just like today. I was just in the car.
57:14
I was like, Smelty's going to make me go first.
57:17
So funny. That's okay. I already thought about
57:21
my predictions. That's crazy. Yeah. So... No,
57:25
he's permanent guest. So, yeah, permanent guest.
57:27
That's crazy. He's pretty much... No, he's not
57:29
even a guest. Something. Yeah, so my podium predictions.
57:33
In first, I am putting Lando Norris. Shocker.
57:36
Crazy. In second place, I am putting Max Verstappen.
57:40
Second place? Okay, yeah. And in third place,
57:43
I am putting Oscar Piastri. Nice. I'll make it
57:45
easy for you, Smelty. It's the same thing. It's
57:47
the same thing, except Oscar and Max are going
57:49
to be switched. Yep. Whoa. Orlando, Oscar, Max.
57:53
So, Oscar, Max, okay. And then George looks good
57:56
on this track, doesn't he? So, you want to put
57:58
George up in first? You should put George up
58:00
in first. George is going to win. I'm sorry.
58:03
I'm bullying you. Let's see. George did get,
58:05
like... Six last year? Fifth last year? That's
58:09
pretty close. In that Mercedes? I'm taking a
58:12
flyer. And just so you know, last year, the only
58:15
two people ahead of George, sorry, three people
58:19
ahead of George were Perez, Leclerc, and Sainz,
58:23
one of which isn't a Williams, one of which isn't
58:26
a Ferrari that doesn't work, and one of which
58:27
isn't even a sport anymore. So, hey, you know
58:30
what? So that means I'm going with Oscar winning
58:34
the race, Lando getting second, and George coming
58:38
in clutch for me. Let's go! To be fair, Oscar
58:42
is really fast on this track. He did win the
58:45
sprint race last year. Oh, we didn't even talk
58:47
about this. I swear I put it in the notes. You
58:51
put it in the notes. I ignored it. It's a sprint
58:54
race this weekend, so we know. Oscar did win
58:58
last year, and he was dominant. I'm telling you,
59:03
there's going to be a point in this season where
59:06
McLaren's going to have to make a decision. It
59:08
will be Lando, probably. But at some point in
59:11
the season, they're going to have to make a decision
59:12
and try to get somebody to WDC here. I think
59:15
they're going to wait as long as they can for
59:17
that. If Oscar gets first and you guys get two
59:19
points from that and I'm left behind, that's
59:21
going to suck. I have Lando in first. He took
59:23
Lando. I have Lando in first. I'm the clown.
59:25
I think Oscar is going to come back. I have Oscar
59:27
in second. Oh, so we literally can't get. We're
59:30
like very different. So if George gets in the
59:32
podium, screw you guys. Yeah, we're. I'm of the
59:36
opinion. I think Oscar is going to come back
59:38
to China with. like a fire in his belly. He's
59:42
going to be upset that, you know, what happened
59:43
in Melbourne happened. These picks are locked
59:45
in before you talk yourself into switching. And
59:47
he's going to come back and he's going to, he's
59:50
going to like want to fight. He's going to want
59:52
to just give it his all. He's going to come in
59:54
and he's going to slam this sprint. And then
59:57
he's going to burn out for the race. Oh no. And
1:00:00
that's why he's, he's still going to come in
1:00:01
third because he's a great driver and he's in
1:00:04
a great car, but I don't think he's going to
1:00:06
have that same fire for the race. I think Lando's
1:00:08
going to come back. What, do you disagree he's
1:00:10
a great driver and a great car? Why don't you
1:00:12
disagree? Disagree with me, Smelty. Tell me I'm
1:00:18
wrong. Anyway, so that's that. He's scared. That's
1:00:20
the China GP. I have a question for you specifically.
1:00:23
Specifically for me. Your delusion about Max
1:00:25
not finishing on the podium, where's that coming
1:00:27
from? That's a great question. What do you mean
1:00:30
Max won't finish on the podium? I want you to
1:00:32
answer this question to the both of us. I want
1:00:38
you to look him in the eyes. This face he's making?
1:00:41
It's because of you. He's making that face because
1:00:43
he's not on the podium this weekend. I'm actually
1:00:47
curious. Where do you have Alpine this weekend?
1:00:50
I hope they're going to... Where do you think
1:00:53
they're... Not where you hope. boss wins. Does
1:00:56
that mean they're going to win? I think Jack
1:00:58
Doolin finishes between P10 and P13 this weekend.
1:01:02
I think he can actually battle. I don't think
1:01:06
he's going to actually battle for points. I don't
1:01:09
actually think he'll get P10, but between P10
1:01:11
and P13, I think that's where Doolin will finish.
1:01:13
I think Gasly will absolutely be in points, no
1:01:16
question. Gasly's going to be... It depends what
1:01:19
Albon's going to be doing. If Williams can show
1:01:21
strong again this weekend, they're going to be
1:01:22
tough. And I think... it makes me nervous about
1:01:25
picking Alpine at five to finish constructors.
1:01:27
But again, we did talk about, I even quote, I
1:01:31
listened to it today. I said, Williams could
1:01:33
easily go five though. You know, like they could
1:01:35
easily jump everybody and it's, we'll have to
1:01:38
see. Historically for the last couple of years
1:01:41
have put a big emphasis on straight line speed.
1:01:44
And so that was like a big thing last year when
1:01:47
we got to China is people were like, watch out
1:01:49
for Williams. They're good in a straight line.
1:01:51
And obviously Williams just didn't have the car
1:01:53
last year. Yeah, but they might have the car
1:01:55
this year. And if that's the case, we could see
1:01:57
maybe even a double point finish from Williams.
1:02:01
That's what I'm saying, though. I think that's
1:02:03
incredibly possible. I think it'd be like a good
1:02:05
P7, NP9, or P10. But I think somebody could be
1:02:09
P7 at least. I think it's going to be a good
1:02:12
battle, though. I think Gasly can battle both
1:02:14
those cars. I think Gasly will be battling Fernando.
1:02:18
Fernando will be right back in the mix. Who knows
1:02:21
what Lance is going to do? You know what I mean?
1:02:23
Hopefully drive the car. I think you're going
1:02:24
to see a battle between, honestly, and this is
1:02:27
not a hit on Kimi, but I think you're going to
1:02:29
see a battle between Lance, Kimi, and Doohan
1:02:31
will be in there. I think, shoot, I think Ocon
1:02:36
could be in that same group right there that
1:02:39
I just mentioned. I don't know. It'll be interesting.
1:02:42
Then the question is, where's Charles and Lewis?
1:02:46
I think, I don't know. It really depends on what
1:02:48
car that, you know, what they can figure out
1:02:50
this week. I, my hope, I don't think this is
1:02:54
going to happen. My hope is that we see Nico
1:02:55
Halkenberg in the points again. Put him in 10.
1:02:57
I don't think so. I think dry, I think dry conditions.
1:03:00
I don't think it's going to happen either. But
1:03:03
the fact that he did it is outstanding. And I
1:03:06
think, I think he's probably going to score more
1:03:08
the rest of the season at some point. At some
1:03:10
point. I mean, in the first race, that's insane.
1:03:12
I think he's like really underrated as a driver.
1:03:14
So true. He drives the heck out of that car.
1:03:18
That's what happens. I'm just kidding. He picked
1:03:21
the right time to leave Haas. I can't toss crap.
1:03:25
I'll be like... I'm just kidding. Please don't
1:03:29
be mad at me. I'm sorry. I'm pitting Kick and
1:03:34
Haas probably against each other this weekend.
1:03:37
I think they're going to be very low on the grid.
1:03:39
My biggest question is where is Antonelli and
1:03:42
Lawson finishing? Lawson... I have more, obviously,
1:03:47
I have more confidence in Antonelli finishing
1:03:49
at least somewhere in the top 10, but Lawson.
1:03:52
God, I'm nervous. I'm telling you, there's going
1:03:53
to be a race at the top, right? There's going
1:03:55
to be that mid -pack race, but then there's going
1:03:57
to be a race of, like, all them. Yeah, down at
1:04:00
the bottom. Antonelli, Bierman, Ocon. Yeah. Shoot,
1:04:04
Sauber. Like, there's going to be a hodgepodge.
1:04:06
I think it's going to be a great race. I just
1:04:08
talked myself into it. It's going to be a great
1:04:10
race. Let's do it. Anyway, with that, Kev, Joel,
1:04:14
thanks for being here, as always. Thanks for
1:04:15
having me. Yeah, no problem. Thank you for being
1:04:17
here. Are you going to be here next week? I think,
1:04:18
are we going to be here next week? Wait a minute,
1:04:20
that's a great question. That's a great question.
1:04:22
I should have figured that out. Let me pull up
1:04:24
the schedule real quick. So we do not, there
1:04:26
is not a race weekend after next. I know that
1:04:28
for a fact. So we may or may not be here next
1:04:32
weekend. I don't think we will be, but. Oh, here,
1:04:35
maybe the one that's titled production schedule
1:04:37
that I made. I was just, yeah, I was just going
1:04:39
to pull that up. Maybe. Maybe next week. It might
1:04:42
be the week after because we have China recap,
1:04:45
right? Which also had a sprint in it. And we
1:04:47
could either do something fun at the end of that
1:04:49
episode or we wait a week and then we'll preview
1:04:52
Japan too. So we'll figure it out. Depending
1:04:54
on how the race goes, if anything like insane
1:04:57
happens, I think we'll probably have one. And
1:05:00
we have to talk 40 minutes on the recap like
1:05:02
we did today. We should probably just do it next
1:05:04
week. If it's that good. Stay tuned. I mean,
1:05:07
if it's really good. Scheduling will either be
1:05:09
every single week or the week of a race. So we'll
1:05:13
kind of figure that out. With that, though, Mike,
1:05:17
thanks for being here again. Thanks, Mike. Obviously,
1:05:19
we're looking for you to be here all season.
1:05:21
I am, too. What would be a good word for him
1:05:24
since we're not doing the permanent guest? He's
1:05:26
a co -host, you know? Well, I mean, he could
1:05:29
still be a guest. We just let him in sometimes.
1:05:32
He's a boy, right? It's true. Last time I checked.
1:05:37
No, he's a B -O -I. That's good. All right, let's
1:05:40
end this, Kev, before things get out of hand.
1:05:43
With that, don't forget to like, comment, subscribe,
1:05:45
wherever you listen to the banter, whether that's
1:05:47
YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio.
1:05:51
I think that's it. If not, just figure it out.
1:05:54
Google us. Google me. We're out there. But anyway,
1:05:57
with that. We love telling our fans to figure
1:05:58
it out. Just do it yourselves. Figure it out.
1:06:01
Follow us if you want. What are you doing? It's
1:06:03
fine. Anyway, let's go. Bye. Bye. See ya. Don't
1:06:07
forget to follow, like, and subscribe. Tune in
1:06:11
next time for more banter with the boys.